polycarpic
|pol-y-car-pic|
🇺🇸
/ˌpɑːliˈkɑːrpɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌpɒlɪˈkɑːpɪk/
repeatedly fruiting / flowering more than once
Etymology
'polycarpic' originates from Greek elements, specifically 'poly-' from Greek 'polys' meaning 'many' and 'carp-' from Greek 'karpos' meaning 'fruit', with the adjectival English suffix '-ic'.
'polycarpic' was formed in scientific/Neo-Latin usage (compare New Latin formations such as 'polycarpicus') drawing on Greek roots and entered English as a botanical adjective; it parallels related terms like 'polycarpy' (noun) and earlier coinages using 'poly-' + classical root elements.
Initially formed to mean 'bearing many fruits' (literally), the word's botanical sense stabilized to mean 'flowering/fruiting more than once during the plant's life' in modern usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the condition or trait of being polycarpic; repeated flowering/fruiting across a plant's life (formation: 'polycarpy').
Polycarpy allows a plant multiple opportunities to set seed over several seasons.
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Adjective 1
of a plant: flowering and producing fruit repeatedly during its lifetime (not limited to a single flowering and then dying).
Many shrubs in temperate gardens are polycarpic, producing flowers and fruit year after year.
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Last updated: 2025/11/24 04:45